Degree Map Guidance for Purdue University West Lafayette Academic and Faculty Advisors

This document was developed by Purdue University-West Lafayette Academic Advisors, the Director of University Undergraduate Advising, and the Office of the Registrar for use on the Purdue University West Lafayette campus. It will provide information for Purdue University faculty, staff and students on the recently enacted House Enrollment Act (HEA) 1348-2013.

Goals of HEA 1348-2013:

Improve graduation rates

Provide a clear path for students to graduate on time by requiring a Degree Map

Set standards so that state financial aid recipients graduate on time

Support course availability, allowing on-time graduation

This act requires that public colleges/universities provide a degree map to all new first-time, full-time students. HEA 1348-2013 is effective beginning the fall of 2014. For Purdue-West Lafayette (PWL) the terminology “plan of study” is interchangeable with the term “degree map.” The term degree map refers to the concept as embodied in the legislation. Plans of study also refer to the eight-semester grids used in advising offices or the standard plans of study available electronically on websites and on the Plans tab in myPurduePlan. These allow students to customize their degree progress. All these formats are designed to provide a clear path to on-time completion for students.

Purdue University is in compliance with HEA 1348-2013 and provides a standard eight-semester on-time degree map to all new first-time, full-time undergraduate degree seeking students who enter Fall 2014 or later. A student’s standard map will be pre-loaded by the Office of the Registrar prior to the beginning of a student’s first semester.

Students not selecting a major will be provided with a 30 credit hour degree map based on Purdue University’s core curriculum. Upon selecting a major, students will receive the appropriate degree map and it will then be loaded by the Office of the Registrar into the Plans tab of myPurduePlan.

While the Commission does not dictate what technology shall be implemented by an institution to produce a degree map, it does expect that institutions utilize existing degree audit software and related interactive scheduling software when available. Because Purdue-West Lafayette has already adopted a degree audit software platform and an interactive class scheduling software platform, we are obligated to continue to develop and utilize these technologies to the best of our ability. Advisors can choose to use paper plans of study, but in doing so, it must be in addition to using the myPurduePlan.

Resources:

In order to provide guidelines for those who will be working directly with this new state law, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education has published the following set of resources: Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities (HEA 1348-2013)